Drowning In Oxygen (2) (Sequel)
by WriteCrazily13
Summary: Peter wasn't going to try and save himself. The last time that happened, it cost him somebody's life. That mistake would never happen again. SEQUEL TO HUNTED (1).
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Nah, I don't own Marvel. However, I ****_do _****own this book AND the previous one (Hunted) so I sincerely recommend you read that before this. It's not deeply needed, though.**

**Note: Don't worry, you didn't miss anything in Hunted, if you came from there! There is a brief time skip between this book and the last one XD**

* * *

**~ Prologue ~**

"Hey."

Peter's smile was strained, before it fell completely. He didn't bother faking it again.

"I - I know - or rather, I hope - that you guys are missing me. I get why you did it, I know I'm less important than - than the world, but it still hurts."

His eyes were glistening, but he made no move to wipe them, instead turning around to check nobody was there.

"It's not your fault," he continued. "I know it's not, and you mustn't believe it's yours, because it's not. Okay? Just - just think that through, for a second."

He turned around again, taking in his surroundings. Maybe he was searching for somebody, ready to turn the camera off.

Tony didn't know. He just wanted to find the address of where this video was taken so that he could get his boy back.

_He just needed his boy back._

This was his fortieth time watching it. He hadn't gotten any closer.

He hadn't been able to bear watching the end. Maybe it had a clue, maybe it had Peter being hurt.

He just couldn't risk it.

"I - I wish you guys didn't have to do that, though." Peter tried for a smile again, but it was strained.

He went for a frown instead.

"It hurt. It really did. I - I got sold out by my own teammates, my own _father. _It would hurt anybody. Especially a person who doesn't have any original family left."

Those sentences always made Tony feel bad.

Only because they were true. _True. _And doesn't that make him a bad father?

"I know they were bargaining with Steve. I know that it was about me, Steve can't hide anything. And I know that you tried to stop him."

Peter looked down, fiddling with his hands, before he looked up again.

His eyes were bloodshot, Tony noticed. He had deep bags under his eyes, and there was a wound on the side of his head.

He was bleeding.

Peter didn't bother to wipe the blood away. It was like he knew it was useless. There would just be more to come later.

"And when I realised that, I didn't bother to run. I _couldn't _run. If I ran that could mean that innocents might lose their lives, and I can't be responsible for that."

Tony could still remember when they'd finally told Peter the plan they'd made, Tony with tears rolling down his face, and Peter had made no resistance when they took him to _them._

He didn't even know who _they _were.

Or maybe he did.

(Maybe he'd said it at the end of the video, but Tony didn't look, he _couldn't _look, it was too painful, what if he got kil-)

"And I know that maybe these hurt you, these words I'm saying, but they had to be said." Peter's eyes were earnest. "I'm going to quickly say a few notes for each of you, okay? I don't mind if you listen to them. It doesn't matter."

Tony listened intently, whilst simultaneously getting FRIDAY to scan Peter's surroundings.

_Even though he'd already done it the other thirty nine times and it hadn't helped at all-_

"So, first for Clint. I, um, I know you protested against it. Maybe because you had a wife and a kid, maybe because I'm still just a kid in your eyes, I don't know. Maybe I bring out your paternal instincts?

"More like I bring out your 'act like a child' instincts. Is there a word for that?

"Anyway, Clint, just remember that you're incredible, okay? I love you. And - and we'll get to those archery lessons one day."

Tony almost sobbed.

Clint had promised to give Peter archery lessons the day before he'd been taken - _sold out - _and that was all Peter had been talking about.

Now Tony didn't know if there was a chance he'd ever get those lessons.

_"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid there is no information about where Peter is."_

"Okay, FRIDAY," Tony croaked out, his voice hoarse from little usage. It was surprising how much he talked around the kid.

"This is for Natasha. Look, Nat, I know you're afraid of these people, I am too, but it's okay. I'll find you again and everything will be okay, I promise.

"I won't be to hurt, and I know that my mind will still be intact. I can just _feel _it. So you'll finally be able to teach me how to properly fight!

"I love you, Aunt Nat, I need you to promise that you won't forget that. If you think that nobody cares... Just know that I do."

As always, Peter was being selfless, Tony noted fondly. He hoped Peter would never lose that aspect of himself.

And yet... Tony could see the pain in Peter's eyes. The horrors that he had seen, they were all evident in them.

Every single bad thing he'd seen, it added one more cloud to his eyes, making them darker and darker every passing day.

And Tony wanted that to stop. He wanted his boy to come back to him with the brightness in his eyes, happy and smiling, as though nothing bad had ever happened.

(Even though Tony knew that these people were ruthless, that he wouldn't get out unscathed.)

But he wished, and that was all that he could do, right? Up until he found Peter again, until he could hug him and never let him go, because he's lost him too many times and _he didn't want to lose him again._

"I, um, I don't have much time. Bruce, Steve, Wanda, Vision, Thor, even _Loki, _Scott; whoever else, I love you guys so much. Don't forget me, please."

Peter's eyes were serious as he looked at the screen.

"And finally Dad. I know that this was a hard decision for you to make."

Tony stared at the screen, scared of what was going to come next.

_(He's never been able to brave watching his note - what if Peter was angry at him, what if he started yelling? What if he said all of Tony's doubts - that he's a bad father -)_

"But I know it was a necessary one. After all - they would've killed you all, wouldn't they? And the world needs the Avengers more than they need Spider-Man."

Peter tried for a smile again. It didn't work.

"But it's okay! I'm not mad, I promise I'm not, I just - I wish we could've thought of a different way. Not that I value my life above anyone else's," he added hurriedly, looking horrified at the thought, "no, no, no! I just wish that I didn't have to leave you all."

Tony looked at Peter's eyes, full of forgiveness, before there were loud footsteps.

Tony gasped, looking behind him quickly, realising that they weren't coming from Bruce or Steve or anyone else.

They were coming from _the video._

_"Sir, Mr Banner would like to talk to you upstairs."_

Tony nodded hesitantly, walking slowly to the elevator, listening out for any hits or whimpers of pain from Peter.

Nothing.

He walked into the elevator, going to Bruce's floor.

"I love you, Dad. Maybe you don't anymore. Maybe this video changed your mind. But I - I just wanted to let you know, Before it's too late, you know? In case I - yeah."

Peter's eyes were sad as the video ended.

"Bye, Dad. Maybe I'll see you soon. If I go - then I hope I don't see you for a long time. You deserve to be happy."

Peter looked down, not acknowledging the figure behind him.

"I don't."

* * *

**Hey guys! I just wanted to remind you of one thing before I go :)**

**This is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE.**

**Point 1) Aunt May is gone. Peter lives with Tony, yeah yeah, normal AUs.**

**Point 2) Clint USED to have a wife (the child is currently undetermined whether they're alive or not or going to be mentioned again) and child. I have not decided fully.**

**Also, YOU HAVE NOT MISSED ANYTHING FROM HUNTED.**

**I made a brief time skip because *angst* so yeah. Hope you enjoyed, and I'll try to get back to my usual schedule as soon as I can!**


	2. One

**Disclaimer: Nah, I don't own any recognisable characters. Which is all of them. Whoops.**

_**On Your leftt -**_** Nah, I love those fics as well, which is probably why I like them XD I know, but I love angst so... *angst***

_**LaNguAgE**_** -**** I feel honoured that you consider it blessing XD Thank you! They are, yes, but the Avengers are making sure not to say them, and Harry and Ned do or will know about them, and they're basically the only people who Peter talk to, so it shouldn't make much of a difference in the story. Hmmm, who knows? ;)**

* * *

**~ One ~**

_Peter was there again. He could see Steve talking to the head of -_

_\- and Bruce started getting angry -_

_\- Tony was protesting against the idea -_

_\- Peter was shaking his head, insisting that he had to go with them, he had to go with -_

_\- Tony's eyes were glistening with tears -_

_\- Peter looked away sadly -_

_\- they had water -_

_\- he couldn't breathe._

_He couldn't breathe._

_He couldn't -_

And he woke up.

He was still there, still in that place. He shuddered even thinking about it.

How could he not, though? He was stuck in that place, he'd probably never get out.

The Avengers -

_\- he could see Tony reaching out to him -_

_\- he gave a sad smile -_

_\- his throat grew hoarse with his screams -_

_\- he wanted to go -_

\- had to have stopped looking for him by now.

Why would anyone waste their time looking for him? He was worthless. That's all they ever -

_\- "Worthless boy." -_

_\- "Why wouldn't they give you up?" -_

_\- "Stupid, stupid, worthless." -_

\- told him.

He clutched his head in pain.

All these memories - they would haunt him until his dying day.

_(And he felt it wouldn't be long until then.)_

He could barely remember the happy -

_\- Michelle's rare, happy smile -_

_\- Ned's awestruck look as he entered Stark Tower -_

_\- Clint's challenging look as they played Mario Kart -_

_\- Steve's winning smile as they raced against each other -_

_\- Bucky's cakes -_

_\- Tony's laughs -_

_\- Tony's inventions -_

_\- "Dad, I -" -_

_\- Tony's genuine smile -_

\- memories he used to have.

He wanted it to stop. He wanted everything to freeze, to make it so that none of this happened, that he was just back at home watching cringey movies and laughing at them.

Not here, being tortured for information he didn't even _have, _being hurt for their _amusement, _watching as their expression grew into delight.

They _enjoyed _this.

One of them walked into Peter's room.

He'd taken to calling it that anyway. Sure, it wasn't homey, but it was much better than some of the other places he'd been dragged to. And besides, he'd always been shoved back in here afterwards.

Of course, it wasn't much. Grey, blank walls. Shackles here and there - they used to have them on Peter before he grew so weak from lack of food and energy that they simply didn't need to anymore.

Peter was as pale as a ghost. He felt that if he were in a hospital, he'd match the walls (and that was something he didn't feel comfortable about).

His eyes were lifeless. The tiny speck of brightness still left in there was small, almost unseen.

If _they _saw it... They'd be sure to get rid of it.

"Rise and shine," the person spoke, kicking Peter's leg.

"Morning already? Man, I thought it was still night," Peter responded, rolling his eyes, dodging the other kick as he stood up.

He couldn't miss the punch they aimed at him though.

"No smart comments. It's the boss's turn today," they spoke, giving Peter a nasty grin. "He's pretty certain he'll be able to break you."

Peter pretended to yawn.

"Oh, _please. _That's what I've been told for the past - what - eight days? How long have I been here again?"

The person narrowed their eyes, not replying.

"Dude, I seriously wanna know. I feel like I should send my dad a card or something. One of those _I wish you were here _ones. Except I wish I was with him. You know?"

"Shut up."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

* * *

Peter had to admit, this guy was a _lot _harsher than the others.

Mainly because he used water _then _electricity. What kind of monster did that?

(And no, Peter was not referencing any monsters. He honestly wanted to know.)

Peter took a deep breath (a rare occurrence in these sessions) and spoke.

"You know... I'm not going to... say anything, right?"

The boss gave him an evil snarl.

"I know. Maybe I just want to see you in pain because of the pain you've brought upon me."

Peter looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean? I'm fairly certain I haven't met you before... And come on, I'm Peter Parker! Everyone's friend!"

"I don't think so. Not to me, Parker. Not to me."

Now that seemed familiar.

Peter wracked his brain before he finally came up with the answer.

The Goblin. Naturally, Peter knew Norman wasn't involved in _this _kidnapping (he wouldn't be stupid enough to hurt someone the Avengers loved _twice), _but the way the person pronounced Parker...

Normally, hearing his old surname would've given him a panic attack. Peter thought that was the reason the guy said it, but it didn't.

He was training with the Avengers for that. They knew his trigger words, all they needed to do was help him get over it, in a way.

He could now hear Parker and water without getting panicked.

Alone, however? He'd always been scared of being alone, abandoned. That one wouldn't go away as quickly.

_(Of course, the Avengers didn't know that. Peter didn't want to bother them with his fears.)_

"So, humour me," Peter said, leaning as far back in his chair as he could with his hands tied along with his feet, "tell me your name?"

"Oh, you know my name," the man huffed, clearly annoyed that Peter couldn't remember. "You _know. _You ruined my _life."_

"Now, don't be too hasty," Peter said, wagging his finger at him. "We don't know if that's exactly what happened."

"Uh, yeah, that's exactly what happened."

"Tell me your story, from _your _point of view, if you wouldn't mind?"

Peter honestly felt like a therapist.

"What other point of view would I tell it in?"

That was a good point.

"And besides, I'm not telling you. I'm afraid you'll have to remember how you ruined my family's life. How you stood my girl up... To fight me."

Peter gave a gasp, the voice finally clicking in his head.

"The Vulture?"

"Oh, I go by just Toomes now," Toomes grinned, madness lurking in his eyes. "You see... My wife and daughter left me after what _you _did. We would've been perfectly happy if you hadn't come along!"

"They would've found out either way!" Peter shouted, that being the first mistake he made.

The second was managing to undo the restraints.

* * *

"Come on, come on..." Ned murmured, texting Peter for what felt like the seventieth time in the past five minutes. "What's going on, Pete?"

"So, let's just be clear about this," Harry said from his position next to him, a clipboard in his hand. "Peter hasn't showed up to class, your house, school, _anywhere _since that clash with that new group, correct?"

"Yeah," Ned said, texting Peter again. "And Spider-Man hasn't been seen anywhere either, which means Peter _must _have been taken. He wouldn't stop being Spidey for anyone."

"And the Avengers have been taking turns doing his patrol," Harry listed off, "with Iron Man taking the least, supposedly searching for Spider-Man we've assumed."

Ned _did _feel bad about not telling Harry about Peter being a Stark. Honestly. He just felt it was Peter's secret to tell.

And Peter _would _tell Harry this secret. Because Ned would use his hacking skills to find the base of the villains, even if he died doing so.

_(Ned kind of hoped it wouldn't be that extreme, though.)_

"Exactly. We need to find out where Peter is, so we can tell the Avengers that Spidey's back in town and he was working on saving the kid," Ned responded, grabbing a device he and Peter made out of his drawer.

"What's that?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrow at the small, seemingly useless object.

"This is going to be our ticket for finding Peter," Ned replied, giving Harry a small smile.

And Harry felt that was the biggest accomplishment he'd made that day.

(Ned hadn't smiled since Peter had gone.)

"That tiny thing? What did you and Peter create?"

"You mean what _didn't _we create?" Ned grinned, turning on the device, showing a map with a small, red and blue marker. "See that's Peter."

"And it looks so much like him too," Harry said, sarcasm evident in his tone.

"It's a tracking device, Harry. And yes, Peter knows this is in him. He actually came up with the idea to have the tracker, to be honest. And with the amount of trouble he gets into... We need it."

Harry nodded, a serious expression on his face.

"What do you need me to do?"

* * *

**Hiya! Hope you enjoyed!**

**Bad news... Updates are gonna be two weeks apart. Why? I usually have the entire story planned, like with Hunted, but I don't with this. Sorry about that.**

**Also, any of you Minecraft: Story Mode fans? Cause I may or may not have accidentally made a reference in this chapter XD **

**I'll see you later! Bye!**


	3. Two

**Disclaimer: Nah dude. I can't come up with a story as good as Marvel did. Sorry.**

_**Review replies:**_

_**Wisdom and Sea - **_**Yeah, this was wayyyy longer than two weeks... I kinda lost track of time. Never again! Thanks, though XD**

_**Heir of ice -**_** Ohhh I missed you. I missed you and your reviews so much. Even though it wasn't that long... Thank you! Oh, it's fine, I hope your exams went okay! Aww, that's sweet, thank you so much! Yeah, Pete can never get a break, not with me still existing :) Oh, yes, Harry and Ned are just best friends in my mind. Yeah, they're together :) Haha, yeah, I kinda just changed Harry completely almost and just made him into... me. Thank you! Oh, I love angst so that's just the best compliment ever.**

**Note: Sorry... I lost track of time and just life has sucked. Sorry again :)**

* * *

~** Two ~**

There was one thing Peter knew for sure, and it _almost _made him feel relieved about the situation.

_Almost._

This group? They weren't HYDRA.

Peter could tell by the way they spoke to one another - and by the way they looked at his mark on his shoulder with distaste.

_(In all honesty, Peter looked at his 'Property of HYDRA' mark with disgust too.)_

The way they interacted was completely different, yet it still didn't make Peter comfortable.

These people - the people Toomes banded with - they were a completely new entity. One that the Avengers, the police, even SHIELD hadn't come across yet.

And it scared him.

It scared him because some of the crimes he had been to had nobody left there.

They'd been stealthy.

And it wasn't the normal run of the mill crimes either.

Murders, theft, fatal injuries, anything else.

These people were _dangerous. _And Peter was stuck with them.

He had just admitted it at this point. Tony had probably given up by now. He had no way of telling the time, it could've been months or even days.

Nobody would bother looking for him for this long. He wasn't worth the time.

There was that small part of him that protested against that, that whispered Tony's last words to him over and over and over again. The part that wouldn't let him give up, no matter what.

It _refused _to let him give up.

_"We'll come back for you, Pete. I promise. Don't give up hope, because of you do we'll appear and beat it back into you, okay? I love you, Peter. See you soon."_

* * *

"FRIDAY, pull up file number 43, please," Tony said, stopping his work so he could see the file.

_"Pulling up file 'sad boi hours', sir," _FRIDAY responded dutifully.

Tony gave a sad chuckle at the reminder of when Peter changed the name of all his files.

He hadn't known what was in any of them, of course. Tony didn't disclose that information to anyone, not even his son.

That's not to say that Tony didn't change all the files around so that the name would be appropriate to what was in the file.

Inside of file 43 were pictures and videos of Peter, from when Tony had adopted him to before he got taken.

Not taken.

_Given away._

"I'll find you, Peter," Tony vowed quietly, staring at the videos and photos sadly.

_"Hey, hey, Peter," Tony laughed behind the camera, a ten year old Peter in view. "Guess what?"_

_"What is it, Tony?" Peter asked, a grin brightening his face. "Is it that new chemistry kit we were talking about yesterday? You didn't have to get it, you know, it costed loads."_

Tony remembered that moment. He remembered Peter's grin lighting up his entire face, his pearly white teeth on full view as he opened his present.

There was only one thing that had troubled Tony at the time.

_The kid had forgotten it was his eleventh birthday._

He supposed it was from all that time on the streets by himself. Peter had said he'd spent his tenth birthday by himself - perhaps that was when he did it.

In a way, Tony almost felt bad. He shouldn't of, not really. He hadn't known Peter then, hadn't known the things he was going through.

He did now. He did, but he gave him away anyway.

_Stop. Focus on the videos._

He turned back to the screen, only to see a photo staring back at him.

On Peter's twelfth birthday, Clint had insisted that him and Peter have a selfie, which of course made all of the Avengers want one too.

It ended with the person who had the longest arms (Steve was chosen for the job - Tony could've gotten FRIDAY to take it, but he found it funny) to take the picture, and everyone else had to fit themselves into it.

Peter was in the middle, of course, hair messy and grin wide as usual, his Avengers shirt clear to the camera. He had pulled Tony into the photo, doing bunny ears on the top of his head.

Tony had noticed Peter trying to do it. He pretended he hadn't.

Let the kid enjoy himself.

Natasha was behind them, with Clint halfway jumping onto her back.

(In reality, Clint wanted to jump on Peter's back, but Tony gave him a 'dad' look and Clint immediately backed down, turning to Natasha instead.)

Scott was there too, except he'd made himself small with the Pym Particles and was on Peter's shoulder.

Tony was pretty sure he was pointing his middle finger at the camera, but it could've also been the peace sign.

He hoped it was the latter.

Peter was too innocent at the age - he still was, in all honesty.

Tony hoped that innocence remained.

Thor was there as well, with a snake wrapped around his shoulders. Tony remembered seeing the snake and looking at it with distaste, before reluctantly letting the snake stay after Peter smiled at it.

This kid was too precious for the world.

Bruce was in the photo as well, of course. He didn't originally want to, but all Peter had to do was use his puppy eyes and Bruce agreed.

(Peter's puppy eyes were too powerful. Maybe he could use them to get out of that place?... Tony needed to stop getting his hopes up.)

He was wearing a shirt that said _'Hulk SMASH' _that Tony was pretty sure Peter had bought for him and also made him wear.

It's the thought that counts, right?

When it's Peter, everything counts.

Tony needed to get him back.

He left the room, forgetting to turn the videos off.

It doesn't matter.

He'd look at them later again anyway.

_"Tony, Tony, stop!" Peter laughed, shoving him away as Tony continued tickling him. "Seriously, stop! It's - I - come on, please!"_

_"You know what to do," Tony chuckled. "You've gotta say it. Say 'I surrender'. Go on, then I'll stop!"_

_"No! I won't give in!" Peter grinned, tears pouring down his cheeks from the amount he was laughing. "Please, Dad, stop!"_

_Tony stopped._

_Peter flushed._

_"Did you just -"_

_"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -"_

_Peter blushed even more. "You - you go first."_

_Tony's eyes were glistening._

_(Later, he'd refuse to say he cried.)_

_"Did you just call me Dad?" he whispered, eyes full of hope._

_"I - I guess?" Peter said, looking away awkwardly. "I'm sorry if you don't like it, if you want to get rid of me that's perfectly fi-"_

_"Get rid of you?"_

_Tony looked genuinely confused._

_"Why would I want to get rid of you?"_

_"Well - I - because - not everyone wants to be a dad," said Peter, still refusing to look Tony in the eye. "And you might've just been testing this out, surely you'll go and find a kid you actually like now."_

_"Hey, kid, listen to me," Tony said, making Peter look him in the eye. "And I'm only gonna say this once, so listen carefully._

_"I've already found the best kid in the world. His name? Peter Parker - well, Stark, soon."_

_"You're - you're actually going to change my name?" Peter breathed in wonder, hugging Tony with all his might. "Thank you!"_

_Tony felt a single happy tear trickle down his cheek._

_"It's no problem, kiddo. No problem at all."_

* * *

"By the way, Ned, when did you sort this out?" Harry asked after staring at the tracker for a few minutes.

Ned, still fiddling around with it, answered with a rather distracted tone.

"Oh, after Peter had gotten taken the first time, we decided that he had a tendency to get... stolen, because he's a cinnamon roll or whatever, so I made a tracker and installed it into every piece of clothing he owns."

"So how do you know you're tracking him and not his clothing scattered around his foster home?" Harry said dryly, raising is eyebrow.

Ned was about to make a comment about the 'foster home' thing, but remembered himself at last minute and answered the question instead.

"I made sure Peter turned on the tracker if he was wearing the clothes and turned it off if he wasn't. I'm sure it'll find him soon..."

"What if they took him in the middle of the night?" Harry suddenly wondered, looking at Ned with a concerned look.

Ned responded with a deadpan one.

"We installed trackers into_ every_ piece of clothing. _Every single piece."_

Harry decided not to ask any more questions after that.

* * *

Peter could hear a rather strange tune.

It was happy, peppy - not a thing you'd expect to hear when you're being held captive.

"Hey, what's that sound?" Peter said to one of the guards outside of his cell.

One of them looked embarrassed.

(He also looked rather young, which made Peter worry. Just why was he in this business? Forced?)

"It's my phone... I forgot to put it on silent," he said, awkwardly pulling his phone out and muting it, not declining the call. "Mind if I quickly take this?"

The other guard shrugged.

"So... what's your name?" Peter asked as the first guard moved away. "I'm just calling you 'the other guard' inside my head and it's _really _not helping. I'd like some info here, please."

"We're supposed to be getting info from you, you do realise," the guard responded, rolling her eyes. "If you want to know _that _desperately, though... Esther."

"Okay, Esther," Peter said, testing it out on his tongue. It seemed fine, "mind telling me why they're torturing me and all that? It gets annoying, you know. I _just _got muscles and they're ruining them by adding scars."

Esther looked around, worried.

"You can't ask me stuff like that," she hissed. "There are cameras _everywhere. _They can hear and see _everything _you're doing. And besides," she turned up her nose at him, "it's not like I'd answer to the likes of you anyway."

"Hey!" Peter exclaimed, offended. "What do you mean like that? Have you met me? Everyone I know says I'm like a puppy. It's weird, but it's got to mean _something."_

"It means you're annoying, and you sniff people's butts."

"You're charming, aren't you?" Peter snapped back at her.

He really was getting sick of this place. He wanted out.

_(He didn't really think he could get out.)_

He could try.

_(And fail.)_

He just had to keep optimistic.

_(There was no point.)_

He'd stay alive.

_(And die in the end.)_

_At least he bothered trying._

* * *

**Esther isn't going to be a main character in this, don't worry :) I'm not too fond of OCs unless they're in a story by themselves. No meeting with the canon characters and stuff, you know?**

**I hope you enjoyed and again, sorry about the late update :(**

**I'll do better next time. :/**

**As always, review replies will be at the top of next chapter.**


	4. Three

**Disclaimer: nah, I don't own this. :(**

_**Review replies:**_

_**SpiderFan - **_**Yes, yes he has XD I dunno, I needed plot... Sorry if I've confused you?  
**

**NOTE: GUYS I FINALLY HAVE A NEW LAPTOP! Also, how were your Christmases?**

* * *

**~ Three ~**

_"Don't worry, kiddo. If you fall, I'll always catch you."_

And it was times like these in which Peter was glad for the times random Tony quotes popped into his head.

_"And if I don't catch you... Well, you can always count on the floor, right?"_

Peter had laughed. Now, he realised all he _had _to catch him was the floor.

_"And if the floor fails... Wait. Where do I go from here? And to think I was making a really meaningful thing here."_

Those times were far behind Peter now.

(And to think, that had only been a couple months ago.)

The best part, though, was when Tony had accepted him. Accepted that he was Peter _and _Spider-Man, and nothing could get rid of the spider part of him.

Well, except for a few painful science experiments, but Peter was certain that Tony wouldn't even _think _about doing that to him.

At least, he hoped he wouldn't.#

_"Well, I guess if the floor fails, then I can just swoop right in, catch you, then yell at the floor for not doing its job."_

The grey walls around him seemed to loom in on him. Mocking him.

Why? He didn't have a clue.

He suddenly wondered why the walls were grey. Surely the walls had been white at one point?

Maybe something had happened to the other people in this place to... change it.

Maybe the other people had changed it.

Maybe there weren't even any other people here at all and Peter was thinking too hard and he just needed to _stop._

_He wanted to go home._

"Food."

That was the first word that had been spoken to him in a while. How long had it been? He didn't know.

"Thanks, you know, I was just starting to get peckish," Peter said, giving the guard a grin. It wasn't Esther this time. This guy was new. "Being starved kinda does that to you. I didn't know either!"

And yes, Peter was immensely proud of the evident sarcasm in that comment.

"Quiet, brat," the man hissed, clearly not in the mood for Peter's (clever, in his mind) comments.

"Okay, okay, sheesh, people really have no manners," Peter said, rolling his eyes as he grabbed the food and sat with his back against the _(grey, grey, grey) _wall.

Stale bread. He wondered if it had gone stale a couple weeks ago or a couple of months.

It wouldn't make a difference anyway.

"Just one last question, if you don't mind? I mean, I'm gonna ask it anyway, I just thought I'd ask to be nice," Peter added, the man groaning at the thought.

"Get it out quick, boy, unless you want another punishment. Say... well, we'll have to leave it to the master for that, shouldn't we?"

In the dim light, Peter could see yellow teeth trying their best to give him a grim smile.

"I'm good. Anyway, I was just wondering, you know, it's been a while, how long have I actually been here for? It's not like I have a watch or anything, and I'd like to know. Please?"

Peter added puppy eyes for good measure, which seemed to make the man decide to tell him (and yes, Peter had tried to use the puppy eyes to get out. It didn't work).

"Three weeks and four days," he grunted out, resuming his position of leaning back on his chair, smoking a cigarette. "August 27th."

"Ah, it's been a while then, huh?" Peter said as an attempt at small talk. "You mind smoking somewhere else? I don't want to die when I get out of here, and I don't think you want to die either. Bad habit."

He tried not think about how it had been three days since he was fifteen.

_(He'd thought that when he was fifteen, he would have a small gathering with Ned, Harry, Michelle, and maybe that girl Harry had mentioned. And he and Tony could spend time together..._

_That was all ruined now.)_

"Shut up, brat."

This time, Peter took the words to heart.

After all, if he'd been told to shut up this many times, despite them being villains, that had to mean there was something wrong with him, right?

Yeah. There had to be.

_"I'll catch you, Pete. I swear on... every piece of technology I own. Since I care more about you than me and my tech is also more important, so I'll swear on that instead."_

Tony would've found him by now. He was a billionaire, he had the tools, didn't he? He was one of the smartest minds of the world - and he had _Bruce Banner _with him.

Tony had to have found him.

Or maybe he'd stopped. Told everyone that since it had been so long, he had to be dead.

That made the most sense.

With a small sigh _(and the guard immediately telling him to shut up a moment later), _Peter leaned his head against the wall.

The grey, grey, _grey _wall.

* * *

"He's not dead," Tony insisted. "He's - he's not fifteen yet. We haven't celebrated his birthday yet, so he's not dead."

Tony said this with such certainty, as though he firmly believed that Peter couldn't die without having a fifteenth birthday party.

"Tony..." Pepper whispered, patting his back gently. "It was Peter's birthday three days ago. Remember? You had all the presents piled up in his room for when he gets back..."

Pepper neglected to mention the if.

_If _he gets back.

"Yeah, but he hasn't spent it with us yet, and he hasn't opened his presents, so he's not fifteen yet," Tony said, nodding his head. "He can't be fifteen if he hasn't blown out his candles on his cake, either. And he's not dead if he hasn't had his cake, so I'm right."

It was almost ridiculous, the amount Tony would say to make sure his son wasn't dead.

Pepper knew that if Peter died, Tony would self-destruct. He'd given up drinking when Peter moved in - didn't want to scare the kid.

After that, it just grew into him loving to see the ecstatic expression on Peter's face when Tony told him he hadn't drunk in three years.

Pepper could see the bottles. Only one was open so far.

Barely a sip had been taken out of it.

_Peter had no idea that Tony desperately needed him._

_Tony had no idea how much Peter helped him._

_Pepper knew that they needed Peter back._

_Desperately._

* * *

"We need another smart person to help us with this," Ned groaned, staring at the tracker with dead eyes.

(He needed Peter back.)

"I never turned off any of the other ones off, as well as the fact that who ever took Peter probably checked him for stuff like this. We can turn them on from here, but... Peter sorted that bit out."

Harry gave him a deadpan look.

"You're telling me," he started, giving Ned an eye roll, "that Peter worked out how to turn the trackers back on manually _here, _but never told you. And the tracker is on _him, __so it's useless that he knows this."_

"In my defence, we were watching Star Wars," Ned said, holding his hands up.

Harry gave him a sad look.

"You know, it was Peter's birthday three days ago," he said quietly, looking down. "He's been missing for three weeks and four days. Can you believe it? Three weeks and four days that we've been without our best friend."

"And seven hours, forty seven minutes and twenty one seconds. Twenty two - twenty three," Ned put in, pretending to be humorous (when really Harry knew Ned had actually been counting).

The bags under Ned's eyes were deep. He had been up every night trying to find Peter.

(It was those rare times Harry was allowed to sleep over so that he could force Ned to get some rest.)

(It was in those moments that Harry stayed up the entire night instead, staring at the tracker, hoping that some magical portal would open up and Peter would jump through.)

(He wished it could be that simple again.)

"You said you need extra brainpower?" Harry said suddenly, eyes brightening. "Because there's this girl I know who's _really_smart, especially with these types of things -"

"I don't know..." Ned said with an unsure tone. "The only thing we can tell her is that Peter's been kidnapped - we can't say _why__, _because of Spidey, or how, because we don't know, or any other information.

"How do you even know that she'll help, Harry? I've never met her, so Peter probably hasn't either. Why would she try find a guy she's never met?"

"For one, her dad's in the police force, it's kinda in her blood," Harry smirked, trying to add some light into the situation. "And besides, she's a really nice person, I'm sure she'll be happy to help."

"Whatever you say, Har," Ned mumbled, his eyelids drooping as he gave the tracking device an intense glare.

"I'll message her in a moment," Harry said, frowning at the other boy. "You look like you're about to keel over. Surely you're not that old? You're not even standing!"

"I may or may not be surviving on three hours of sleep for the last five or six days," he murmured.

"Yeah, you're going to bed," Harry decided. "It's fine, I can stay, my dad won't notice I'm gone. He hasn't noticed for the past week."

Despite Harry's joking tone, Ned could see that the fact hurt him. He gave the other boy a clumsy hug (and by that, he means he gave Harry and a pillow a hug. More the pillow).

Harry appreciated the gesture.

"We'll take it in turns. I'll watch the tracker, I'm on seven hours of sleep for the last four days, I'm doing better."

Ned didn't answer, having fallen asleep before his head even reached the pillow. Harrg gave a fond, quiet laugh.

He'd missed Ned.

"I'll wake you up later," Harry whispered, half knowing that his friend couldn't hear him, the other half not liking the silence.

He took the moment to message the girl.

_SpideySupporter_  
_Hi? [03:53]_

_ThatKidFromBoardingScho_  
_Hey Har [03:57]_  
_What's__ up with that __name__? [03:57]_

_SpideySupporter_  
_It's__ one of those 'you __had__ to be there' things [03:57]_  
_I have a favor to ask of you [03:58]_

_ThatKidFromBoardingScho_  
_Oh yeah? [03:58]_  
_Tell me [03:58]_

_SpideySupporter_  
_Could you __swing__by__ Oscorp tomorrow, say... ten? [04:00]_  
_I need your __help__ with something [04:00]_  
_We're just meeting __up__there__, no going in [04:01]_  
_Please__ don't go all __science__ nerdy on me [04:02]_

_ThatKidFromBoardingScho_  
_I wasn't __going__ to go all __science__ nerdy on __you__. [04:02]_

_SpideySupporter_  
_*deadpan* [04:05]_

_ThatKidFromBoardingScho_  
_Okay, maybe I was going to go all __science__ nerdy on you [04:05]_  
_What do you __need__ me there for? [04:05]_

_SpideySupporter_  
_I'll tell you tomorrow [04:06]_  
_Too __risky__ over text [04:06]_  
_Oh I'm bringing a friend [04:06]_  
_You'll like him [04:06]_

_ThatKidFromBoardingScho_  
_I hope so [04:07]_  
_I'm going back to sleep now [04:08]_  
_See you tomorrow [04:08]_  
_Or rather today [04:09]_

_SpideySupporter_  
_Sorry for __waking__ you [04:10]_

Harry gave a small, relieved sigh.

Surely she'd help them. They'd get Peter back in no time.

No time at all.

* * *

**In case you were wondering, I chose 'three weeks and four days' cause I don't like the number three and four. that is all.**

**and sorry it took so long**

**schools started again**

**eeverythings just gone downhill**

**hope you guys have a grewt day:)**

**spelling and grammar is failing me**

**ill see you soon! (not sunday though cause its m little sisters birthday on friday and i wanna be ther for her)**

**byeeee**


	5. Four

**Disclaimer: Nah, don't own this! I was actually planning out the rest of this story before I though 'shoot, haven't updated, damn'. So here. This is all in the disclaimer cause it is.**

**Review replies:**

**There weren't any :( Please give me some feedback! Even if it's 'this story is crap, update more', I need it! (i'm in lockdown so like I'm really bored... Anyway onto the story!)**

* * *

**~ Four ~**

Peter hadn't had restraints for quite a few days now, he knew.

He hoped it was because his captors thought he had lost all energy, all hope that he could find a way out.

He scoffed.

He was freaking _Peter Parker, _he didn't lose hope _that _easily.

At least, he hoped he wouldn't lose hope anytime soon.

As per usual, he glanced around his cell, noting the differences (there weren't many).

Two spiderwebs in the corner (the thought made him shudder).

A crack in the ceiling - they wouldn't make it cave in on him, would they? Then again, the Vulture had done it once before, who was to say he wouldn't do it again?

A pair of keys left carelessly on the floor just in reach outside the cell.

There weren't any guards - wait.

Peter's eyes brightened suddenly, and he slowly moved toward the door of his cell.

They couldn't have been _that _stupid... Could they?

He took a deep breath, trying to put his hand through the bars so he could reach the keys.

A small jingle as he got them.

He held his breath, hoping nobody had heard.

No footsteps.

He picked them up with his shaking hand, glancing left and right, just in case.

Still no footsteps.

He had the keys on him in the cell.

_A stroke of luck._

He quietly stood up with what little strength he had left - and seeing as he was Spider-Man, he still had quite a bit left over.

He exhaled slowly, his other hand reaching up to the lock and twisting it round so he could see the keyhole.

There were only two keys.

He chose one and lifted it up to the keyhole, trying to see the size difference.

No, it couldn't be that one. It was too big.

Slowly, he put the lock down gently for a moment, trying to hold the other key without making too much noise.

Footsteps.

Eyes widening, Peter quickly and quietly went into the corner he was in before, slipping the keys behind him.

They were coming closer.

Peter lay his head on the wall, closing his eyes and steadying his breathing.

If he just pretended to be asleep, they wouldn't think he'd seen the keys, would they?

The footsteps stopped. Peter could hear voices.

_"You're telling me that you left the big key here? And it was an _accident?"

_"I - I'm sorry, boss, really sorry, I didn't realise how important -"_

_"That key opens the vault, Craig, and that vault contains something worth more than your entire life. Go back and find it."_

Brain ticking, Peter quickly discovered what they were talking about.

The key - the key that wouldn't fit into the lock, that was the one they needed. They hadn't noticed that the key to his cell was missing.

Hands shaking, Peter silently took the key off the chain. He needed to be quiet for this next part - they couldn't know that there were two keys missing.

He crawled to the door of his cell, heart pounding as the footsteps started up again. He pulled the key out, making sure it was the right one, and quickly put it on the floor where it was before.

After he'd done that _(the footsteps were getting closer and closer and he was panicking, they couldn't ruin his one chance), _he scrambled back to what he had dubbed 'his corner' - imaginative - and tried to calm himself down.

He'd almost got caught, that was true, but he had something now.

He had _hope._

His hand clenched the small key as the footsteps neared him.

Once again, he feigned sleep, but he didn't think it was one of the usual guards.

No, from the way the man - his superior, so it had to have been Toomes - spoke to him, he was unwillingly part of this.

Maybe that guy just needed money, to help his family. He didn't sound evil, that was for sure, and Peter was sure that, whoever he was, he was scared of Toomes.

"Oh, come on, where is it..." the man (Craig, Peter remembered) muttered, on his hands and knees. "Where did it go?"

"Um, excuse me," Peter said, his heart rate going down as he calmed more. "I was just wondering what you were looking for?"

Peter knew that faking sleep would be useless. This guy, this Craig, he didn't seem bad, so surely he was forced into this?

At least, Peter didn't feel that he had to keep pretending to sleep. Which was a relief - he'd been doing it for the past couple of hours whenever someone passed the cell, and it was getting tiring.

"Oh, I - um - I can't talk to prisoners, I'm ever so sorry," Craig stuttered, still looking for the key.

"I saw something over there, if that helps?" Peter offered, not mad about what the guy had said.

After all, he was just working there, he wasn't really bad. Right?

"Besides," Peter added, "I'm probably not allowed to talk to you either, but hey, I don't really care. If they ask, just say I started it."

Craig looked to where Peter pointed and found the key immediately. He gave Peter a grateful smile.

"Thank you," he whispered, before rushing off - likely to Toomes, Peter supposed.

"No problem."

Peter gave a smile - his first, genuine smile in a while.

In his hand, he held _hope._

Hope that he would get out one day, that he would see his dad again.

See _everyone _again.

And all it took was a small key to light that hope in him.

* * *

Harry hadn't been inside Oscorp that much recently. Of course, with the whole revelation that his dad was the Green Goblin, it was understandable.

As much as Harry hated to admit it, the Goblin was no different than his father. Nobody else saw that because his father didn't _let _them.

And, sadly, everyone believed it.

Well, everyone _except _Ned, Peter and Harry's friend from boarding school.

Gwen Stacy.

Oh, he was looking forward to seeing her again.

She had been at his boarding school for a long while, a year and a half, and during that time they'd become very close friends.

Harry needed that.

Peter and Ned _were _sending letters, but he couldn't respond as frequently anymore, seeing as his workload was getting bigger by the day - and his dad would kill him if he got a detention.

Gwen had been there for him, helping him with his studies when he struggled, going over things several times until he understood them.

(She really seemed to have a never-ending patience.)

That eventually evolved into friendship, and soon, maybe, something more.

Either way, Harry wouldn't mind whatever happened.

But for now, Gwen was running late - which wasn't surprising, considering Harry had texted her at four in the morning, she was probably sleeping in.

Harry shot her a quick text earlier that morning reminding her, and she hadn't seen it, which likely meant she either slept in, or was rushing around like usual.

Harry assumed the former.

(After you woke up at four, you never went back to sleep. At least, that's what it felt like to Harry. He felt a bit bad now.)

Finally, at quarter past ten, a figure was running up to them, the blonde hair visible before the person engulfed Harry in a hug.

"Harry!" Gwen exclaimed, grinning as they let go. "Woah, you've grown since I last saw you! Considering that was when we, like, nine or ten, that's a given."

"We're just lucky that you gave me your dad's phone number before you went," Harry said, grinning. "Otherwise we wouldn't of been able to keep in touch at all!"

"Very lucky that I'm smart, right?" she said, winking. Finally, she noticed the person standing next to Harry.

Harry saw where her gaze was going, his eyes darkening slightly before going back to normal -

_\- Gwen could be his last chance at getting Peter back -_

\- and he slung his arm over Ned's shoulders.

"Gwen, Ned Leeds. Ned, Gwen Stacy. All you gotta know is Ned's been my best friend for years, and Gwen's my friend from boarding school that I kept in touch with for some reason."

Finishing off his introductions, Harry shrugged, putting his other arm over Gwen's shoulders as he led them to the labs inside Oscorp.

"Once we get into the labs, Gwen, we'll explain what's going on," Harry said in a serious tone, proving he was, indeed, serious about this. "... And then you two can go all 'science' and 'technology' on me and I'll just watch from a corner."

"Sounds good to me," Ned said, trying to insert himself into the conversation, giving Gwen a small _(fake) _smile.

Once they got into the labs - Ned looking around in awe (even though he had to admit that the Stark ones were better) - Harry quickly locked the door, Gwen doing on override code so nobody else could get in.

"So, what do you need me for?" Gwen asked, placing her hands on her hips and cocking her head curiously. "Is it about that vigilante? Spider-Man?"

Ned gave a nervous laugh.

"Spider-Man? Why would we be looking for Spider-Man, exactly? We - we don't even know him, what are you - you implying, here?"

It was safe to say that Ned was _terrible _under pressure.

"Well, I was just thinking," Gwen said, pacing the floors thoughtfully, "that since Harry's nickname is now 'SpiderSupporter' on the thing, that you two would be trying to look for him - being big fans and all."

This time, it was Harry who gave the laugh - although this was full of relief.

"Nope, sadly, while he _is _missing, we're actually looking for our friend. His name is Peter Parker? There's a tiny section in the Daily Bugle about him when he first went missing..."

"Oh, I read that!" Gwen exclaimed. "Yeah, he disappeared one or two days after Spider-Man, didn't he? Man, he's unlucky... Well, you know what the best course of action is here, don't you?"

Ned gave her a questioning look, speaking after a moment.

"No... I've got a tracker on him, but we've been finding it hard to track him down - and when we _do _track him down, we haven't exactly planned what to do. The police wouldn't exactly believe teenagers, would they?"

"It's obvious, guys" Gwen said, rolling her eyes as she did. "The Avengers, right? They're probably looking for Spider-Man, so they'd check out where this Parker kid is staying, just in case he's there."

"That's - that's _smart! _See, I knew there was gonna be a good reason for calling you in!" Harry crowed, backing down at her small glare. "Other than seeing you, of course."

"Okay," Ned interrupted before Gwen could say anything else, "now all we've gotta do is turn on the tracker Peter's got on now. We _can_ do it manually, but, uh.."

"Peter worked that part out," Harry put in helpfully, "and didn't tell either of us, so we have no clue."

"As if you'd have a clue what was going on anyway, Har," Gwen laughed, sitting down on a seat, patting the seat next to her for Ned. "Anyway, show me that tracker."

After a few minutes of glancing at it, attempting to hack it (and failing) and slowly turning off all the other trackers, Gwen grinned.

"I know how he did it," she said, smiling happily. "Basically, once you've turned off all the other ones, this little machine you have here - _very _helpful, I can assure you - knows when there's a tracker attached to a living, breathing entity and turns itself on.

"Pretty ingenious, actually, I'd like to know how he did it..."

"Well, we can ask him," Ned said, his eyes brightening at the idea of seeing his best friend again. "You know why?"

"Because," Harry cut in before Ned could finish, "we're going to get the Avengers' help and they're going to rescue him while looking awesome in the meantime."

Ned and Gwen gave him a small confused look, before shrugging.

"That's definitely what's going to happen."

Gwen ruffled Harry's hair affectionately as he grinned at Ned.

_They had a chance to get him back._

* * *

**oh bad things are gonna happen soon in this fic im so excitedddd**

**im so sorry i didnt get this out earlier! i was doing my danny phantom fanfic yesterday, then figured i should really do this one, so here you go!**

**this part will _forever _be in lowercase!**

**(i almost wrote forever in uppercase im so stupidddd)**

**anyway prepare yourself its gonna be sad :))))**

**i hope you liked this chapter! if you did, _please _review and tell me! and if you didnt, welp, tell me how i couldve made it better!**

**review replies at the top of next chapter :) bye bye!**


	6. Five

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own this. Sorry, I've ran out of witty remarks for definite now.**

**Review replies:**

_**113800**_** \- I'm very glad that you think this book is as good as the last! I honestly didn't have very high expectations for this book either, don't worry XD Thank you very much for the kind words! I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter, and yup, Tony definitely cares for Peter XD to be fair, that part was kind of confusing... Aw, thank you so much! I'm glad that you enjoy this so much! Those are literally top tier words that any Marvel fanfic writer would be ****_so _****pleased to hear. Heh, sorry XD I have a thing with the numbers 3 and 4... It's very late indeed XD Aha, thank you for the compliment! I'm not good at it, exactly, I just have a sort of passion for it and have a style, if that makes sense? Nah, don't worry, I won't XD My sister had the virus, actually, but she's all good now! Thank you very much, I didn't really think that chapter was as good as some of the others, as you can clearly see... Heh, thank you! I like Gwen a lot as well!**

**Notes: For one - wow that was a long reply XD And also I spilled water on my laptop, which is what I write on, and can no longer type numbers or the things that come with them - brackets, speech marks, etc - without pulling up an on-screen keyboard which takes up half my screen and takes _forever _to get the things right. So I'm sorry but these updates may get even more sporadic. Thank you to those who stayed with me!**

* * *

**~ Five ~**

Peter could feel the excitement building up inside of him.

He was_ finally_ going to get out. After all of these weeks - months? - he would finally be _free._

And, oh, how he looked forward to it.

No more sitting in a cell for hours at a time. No more being dragged out by his arms because he refused to willingly go with them.

No more stale food. No more dirty water.

No more being captive.

And this time, Peter swore he'd be more careful than he was. He would _not_ get captured again - although he _had_ walked into this one, he admitted.

_(He fully blamed Steve for that.)_

He had waited for hours after he had found the key, not wanting to risk opening his door.

There was a certain time every day when, for about fifteen-twenty minutes, nobody walked past his cell.

He was hoping it would be the same this time - but then again, why wouldn't it be? They didn't -_ couldn't_ know that he had a key, otherwise they'd have come into his cell _hours_ ago.

He counted himself lucky as he saw the final person that day pass his door_ (and he knew it was the final person, it had to be, because they were a guard, checking that he was still unconscious from the last 'meeting' and making sure his cell was locked)._

He'd gotten taken to Toomes a half hour after he'd found the key, but he'd luckily found a spare moment when nobody passed by him and managed to hide it in the crack in the ceiling.

These people really weren't the smartest.

He waited a few seconds.

Ten had passed by.

He held his breath.

No footsteps.

_Fifteen seconds._

He quietly stood up, making his way over to the crack in the ceiling - he was almost glad that his cell was so small now. _Almost._

_Forty five seconds._

He reached up and grabbed the key, holding it delicately in the palm of this hand - he didn't want to make any noise at all.

_A minute._

Still no footsteps. He had about fourteen minutes left.

And he was going to make them count.

"Wait, explain the plan to me again?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrow slightly as he gave Gwen and Ned an incredulous look. "No offence, but it sounds... stupid."

"It's not stupid, Har," Ned replied, rolling his eyes.

Of course, he was only agreeing to this because Tony would do _anything_ to get Peter back, even go along with a couple of kids' ideas.

Besides, Tony knew him. It was safe to say that he'd know Harry as well, since Peter tended to ramble a lot, so it would just be Gwen, and she'd be easy to explain.

As long as Tony didn't ruin his cover, it'd be_ fine._ Perfectly _fine._

"We already explained it three times!" Gwen added, exasperated. "Do we really need to go over it again?"

"We're about ten minutes away," Harry protested. "We may as well go over it to... get it into our heads, maybe."

"Sure, Harry. _Sure._"

And, as Gwen rolled her eyes for the millionth time that morning, Ned stopped her.

"I hate to interrupt this, but have you noticed who's walking into that coffee shop over there?"

He pointed over to the one that he and Peter where he and Peter were regulars - along with Delmars, of course.

"Sorry, I was too busy trying to help this idiot here," Gwen gave Harry a small look, "figure out what the plan was. For the fourth time. In the last twenty -"

"We get it, I'm dumb, whatever, tell us who you saw, Ned," Harry cut her off, cringing at her deadly glare before turning back to Ned.

Ned, however, had a bright grin on his face.

"I saw our ticket to Tony Stark."

Peter had waited a few more seconds - precious, precious seconds - before he decided to go, knowing it was better to be safe than sorry.

He inwardly questioned the lack of guards, but shrugged it off, knowing that they thought he was too weak to even get up - he'd proved that in his little show he'd made when he had to go to Toomes.

Walking over to the bars of the cell silently, he reached his hand through the bars and used his other hand to steady the lock.

Both were shaking with excitement, bit also nervousness.

What would he do if this went wrong?

He shook the thought out of his head, focusing back on the lock, making sure to slide the key in and turning it as quietly as he could.

The door made a slight creak as he pushed it open, and he winced, expecting someone to be running towards that sound.

Still nothing.

He smiled.

Creeping forwards a bit, he pushed the door open even further, now being mindful of the small creak it made.

He looked up, half expecting there to be flashing lights or a loud alarm.

There was still nothing.

It was going well.

His footsteps were almost silent as he left the cell, shutting the door again so that it would give him a little more time.

He put the key into the lock and left it, knowing that he wouldn't need it anymore - these people were paranoid enough to make separate keys for every single lock in the building.

"Phase one is complete," he whispered to himself, unable to keep quiet.

Noticing a wet patch of water on the floor, he made sure to avoid it, not wanting to slip on it.

How embarrassing would it be to be caught like that? He'd never get over it.

He paused for a second.

Where was he trying to go, exactly? He didn't have a place in mind, he didn't know this place all too well.

He gave a small, unnoticeable sigh, before continuing on his path.

If he couldn't find his way out, he could at least find his stuff and turn on the tracker Tony had put inside of his suit, right?

Besides, that would be some weapons other than his fists, which he was useful for.

Somehow, this was all going to plan.

Peter prayed that it stayed that way.

"It was Bruce Banner," Ned grinned. "He's the most renowned scientist of this generation - _and_ he knows Tony Stark, which is a bonus, so hopefully when we mention Peter and Spidey, he'll bring us to him."

"I've gotta admit," Gwen said, a smile brightening her face, "that's an _awesome_ plan. I can't believe how lucky we are!"

"I can't believe how lucky_ I_ am. If it was just me, I wouldn't be able to understand a single thing he says, but luckily I have you two nerdy geeks, so I'll be fine!" Harry happily said, slinging his arms over Gwen and Ned's shoulders.

They walked into the coffee shop casually, immediately noticing Bruce's figure in the corner, trying his best not to be seen.

To say the least, he wasn't doing a very good job of it, it just happened that people were _extremely_ unobservant.

Ned caught Bruce's eye first, and he told Gwen and Harry to go on, intent on making sure that the scientist knew the plan.

"Honestly, it's fine!" Ned exclaimed when Harry protested. "I'm not going to go all 'fanboy' on him, I swear, I just think it'd be easier for _one_ of us to be explaining it, not all of us crowding him."

Finally, Harry relented as Gwen gave him an amused look.

"Come on, Harry!" she grinned, grabbing his hand and pulling him over to the queue. "We'll get you a surprise, Ned."

"I'm counting on it," Ned responded laughing at Harry's red face.

He quickly made his way over to Bruce, flushing slightly but managing to keep it mouth in check.

"H-Hey, Mr Banner!" Ned greeted, easily sliding into a seat. "I have a question for you, if that's alright?"

Bruce, in all honesty, looked _exhausted._ He seemed to not have had a single full night's sleep ever since Peter had gone, which was bad.

Very, very, _very_ bad.

And, if Ned reflected a little longer, he'd soon come to the conclusion that he looked the exact same (despite him trying to cover it up by cracking jokes).

"Oh, hey, Ned," Bruce smiled wearily, putting down his tablet in order to speak to Ned properly. "What brings you here?"

"I don't have all that much time to explain, but Gwen and Harry don't know about Peter and Tony, so please keep that on the down-low," Ned begged, knowing Bruce would answer to the affirmative but still making sure.

"Of course. What else?"

"I made a tracker," Ned said quietly. "A while ago. After the first time. We've just worked out where Peter is, but we need some help getting him, and Gwen came up with the brilliant idea of getting the Avengers to help by using Spidey as, basically, blackmail."

The corners of Bruce's mouth quirked up slightly, him finding the idea of a teenager blackmailing the Avengers funny.

"Oh, also," Ned quickly added as Harry and Gwen came over with drinks, "pretend you don't know me. Thanks."

He made his voice louder as they got closer, pretending he just finished their conversation.

"And that's why, Mr Banner, we _really_ need your help. We don't know who else to go to other than the Avengers. Please can you help?"

Bruce put his hand on his chin, contemplating slightly, before he looked at Ned again.

"You say there's a chance that Spider-Man is being held captive there too?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then the Avengers will help."

Harry dropped the tray of drinks on the floor in his excitement. Gwen just swatted his arm playfully and they both went in search for some tissues to clean the floor with.

"Now, about this plan of yours..."

There were footsteps. Peter was panicking.

_They sounded like they were going in the direction of his cell._

But surely not?

He had ten more minutes left, people shouldn't be checking his cell this early!

Maybe they changed the routine.

Maybe he left it too late.

Maybe they weren't even _going_ in that direction and he was making it all up because _god he just wanted to see Tony and Ned and everyone again -_

Realising that the footsteps, indeed, were coming in his direction, he looked around in search of a place to hide.

It was then that he realised he was in a corridor - there was nowhere to go except for in the cells surrounding him.

_He was_ not _going to be trapped in one of those things again._

Knowing the only solution, he climbed onto the walls and then onto the ceiling. He flattened himself down as much as he could, knowing that he looked very obvious - but surely they wouldn't look up?

Holding onto that hope, he watched as the person turned the corner.

He didn't recognise who they were from above- or could've been Toomes or it could've been Craig for all he knew.

What he_ did_ know what that he couldn't get caught.

Not now. Not when he was so close.

(Of course he didn't actually know whether he was any close or not, but he was out of the cell and that had to count for something, right?)

The person paused beneath him, and Peter swore he could hear his heart beating rapidly beneath his chest.

_Please don't look up._

_Please don't look up._

_Please don't -_

And they moved on.

Peter could feel his body relax, his heart still pumping furiously as though it knew it wasn't over.

Waiting until the footsteps faded away, he quietly jumped down, turning around.

And jumping back in shock.

"You - you knew I was there?" Peter gasped, hands placed near his head in case the person wanted to attack him.

"Of course. Your breathing... It is very loud in a silent room."

"What are you saying, that I shouldn't _breathe,_" Peter exclaimed, glaring at the man - he finally realised.

"That is exactly what I am saying."

Peter felt a bit creeped out at this point. "Who are you anyway?"

"Who am I? I am in charge of all of this." The man gestured to the entire place around him. "I am in charge of this entire operation. You may call me Tombstone."

And that was the moment Peter realised that he had gotten caught.

* * *

**Um, no, I do not feel bad. Yes, I made Peter escape, and yes, I made someone find him.**

**Surpriseeeeeeeeee! I live!**

**Hopefully you guys read the note at the top, and if you didn't, just check it real quick? Thanks :)**

**See you guys soon, I hope! Stay safe, all of you!**


End file.
